World's Finest
"World's Finest" is the thirty-second through thirty-fourth episodes of Superman: The Animated Series. It depicts the first meeting of Batman and Superman. Strapped for cash, Joker steals a carved chunk of Kryptonite and offers Luthor his aid in killing Superman for one billion dollars. Lex agrees and now Superman must deal with Batman's deadliest foe. He soon discovers that Joker's more cunning than anyone he's ever dealt with before and needs Batman's help. However, with Luthor’s technology, Joker is too great a threat even for Batman. Now the two heroes must overcome their differences to defeat this horrible foe. Plot Part I It's a dark and stormy night in Gotham City and things are going as normal. Joker is up to another one of his schemes. Harley Quinn enters into an antique shop and douses the storeowner with Joker Gas. The Joker then searches the store and steals a dragon statue that appears to be carved from jade. and his new trinket.]] Later, the police check the crime scene and wonder about why he took only one statue that was worth maybe about a hundred thousand dollars. Batman arrives and examines a fragment of the statue that had been left behind and takes it for further study. Back in the Batcave he does some tests and discovers that the rock wasn't made from jade but Kryptonite. According to Alfred, the dragon statue is called the "Laughing Dragon" and that it has gained a bad reputation for being cursed since all of its owners had died prematurely. Now realizing what the Joker is up to, Batman heads off to Metropolis. Out over Metropolis, terrorists attack Air Force One. However, Lois is on the plane and thereby Superman's attention is gained. He easily defeats the terrorists and saves the passengers. When he returns to the ground, Lois tries to let him know how she feels but robbers attack the First National Bank and Superman leaves. and Luthor seal a deal.]] Luthor angrily reads about Superman's aid to the President and heads down to his car. However, Mercy is ambushed and Harley Quinn takes her place. She takes him through Metropolis and picks up Joker. Joker explains to Luthor that he will kill Superman for a payment of a billion dollars. Luthor is skeptical of Joker's ability to deliver. However, when he discovers that Joker has Kryptonite he accepts the offer. Later, Bruce Wayne makes his appearance in Metropolis so that he can work on a deal with Luthor. Lois expresses interest in Bruce. And, much to Clark's dislike, he approaches her and invites her to dinner. That night, Joker arrives at a crime boss' hideout and takes it for his own. He and Harley Quinn beat the thugs and strike the boss with gas. The thugs are too afraid to refuse to work for him. Joker has now gained a new gang and announced his presence. and Superman get acquainted.]] Elsewhere, an insect-like probe droid, the Wayne/Lex T-7, crawls through a canyon even scaling walls. Wayne expresses happiness in using the droids for space travel but Luthor wants to use them for military purposes. Wayne refuses to allow it and due to the nature of the deal, Luthor has no say in it. It's a typical Metropolis night until a shadowy figure runs across the rooftops. Batman enters into a club and starts pummeling the guests so that he can interrogate one of the thugs that Joker tried to recruit. After some persuasion, the Thug swears that he doesn't know anything about the Joker's location. Batman refuses to believe him but Superman confronts him. Batman flips Superman away but is rammed into the wall afterwards. Angered by Batman's actions, Superman uses his x-ray vision and discovers his identity. Batman then pulls out the chunk of Kryptonite and warns Superman of Joker's plan. After his ordeal with Batman, Superman returns to his apartment and gets a call from Lois. He becomes further jealous of Bruce's interest in Lois. But he grows more interested when he sees a tracer on his cape and discovers that Batman has now learned his identity as well. Part II Things are not going well between Batman and Superman and things get even worse as Lois and Bruce flirt with each other in the office. The two heroes talk about Joker's location and Lois' relationship with Bruce. collects his trump.]] Night falls over Metropolis and Bruce and Lois have dinner together at a sky rise restaurant. However, before they can kiss, Joker arrives and knocks Lois unconscious with his joy buzzer. Afterwards, the thugs shoot at Bruce's feet forcing him to fall from the restaurant. However, Bruce is able to save himself by landing on a window wiper's platform then on a ledge. Still, Joker manages to get away. Superman learns of Lois' kidnapping but his jealousy prevents him from listening to Bruce. Joker sends Superman a message letting him know where to find Lois and insists that there will be no police. Superman takes the bait and arrives at the location Joker sent him: a LexCorp laboratory. However, Superman is wearing his anti-Kryptonite suit and is immune to Joker's weapon. But, just as Superman is about to save Lois, Joker reveals he was only trying to trick him into an enclosed room and uses his acid flower to destroy the suit. Superman falls and Joker starts to electrocute him with his buzzer. Before he can kill Superman, however, Harley Quinn calls and warns that Batman has arrived. Joker leaves and waits for Batman to enter into the room. Batman tries to take the Kryptonite out of the room but is trapped himself and Joker Gas is vented in. subdued.]] Fortunately, the room is filled with canisters of hydrochloric acid and Batman is able to use it to melt the Kryptonite. The trio escapes from the room but Joker manages to distract them with grenades made to look like marbles. The laboratory is destroyed but all the inhabitants manage to escape. That morning, Lex makes a public statement that the explosion was only a minor problem but is angry with Joker for destroying his property. Clark, who was amongst the reporters, hears Luthor make mention of his deal with Joker. Luthor confronts Joker and gives him a second chance to kill Superman but insists that it's his last. Out in his apartment Luthor is rudely awakened by Batman who has learned about his connection to Joker from Clark. Batman is unable to gain any information from him but the ordeal has angered Luthor into making a deal with Joker to kill Batman as well. Joker decides to make his new move and sends out a distress signal from a cruise ship to lure Superman away. He also calls in Batman to the docks and has him attacked by a Wayne/Lex T-7. Part III Out at sea, Superman repairs the damage to the cruise ship caused by one of Joker's devices. While he does this, Batman fights the Wayne/Lex T-7 using a specially designed jet pack. However, the probe manages to destroy his pack forcing him to flee. Looking for a place where he'd have the advantage, he goes to the Daily Planet building. ' most recent rescuer.]] Once Batman reaches the building, he discovers Lois is there as well and she is now in danger of being caught in the cross fire. Batman snatches up Lois and together the duo try to escape. Eventually, they find themselves trapped but Batman hits the probe with explosives. The probe proves to be more resilient than he expected however and it nearly pushes him into the press. Fortunately, Lois manages to distract the robot long enough to allow Batman to push it into the press. Unfortunately, Batman's cape and cowl were removed by the press and Lois sees his face. Before things can get worse, however, the probe reactivates but is destroyed by Superman. prepares to destroy everything Luthor built.]] Luthor is informed of the Wayne/Lex T-7's failure and realizes that he'll be connected to the crime. He decides to cut his losses and orders one more meeting with Joker. Back at her apartment, Lois treats a wound on Bruce's shoulder and fumes over how she can't release the story of the century. Superman arrives and asks Bruce for a partnership so that they can take in both their enemies. Batman agrees and the duo leaves. Meanwhile, Joker and Luthor meet at another laboratory and Joker muses over a giant flying wing. Luthor steals a bag from the clowns and sets them up to take the fall. He'll have Mercy kill them and then claim that he had nothing to do with it. However, the bag is filled with pop up snakes, which distract Luthor and Mercy long enough for Mercy to be knocked out. Joker takes Luthor and the flying wing. Joker then tells Luthor that he'll destroy everything that Luthor built just as Batman destroyed everything that he built. carries a "gift."]] Batman and Superman arrive but are attacked by the Wayne/Lex T-7 probes before they can stop Joker from taking off. Together, Batman and Superman destroy most of the probes but soon come across a probe that uses Mercy as a shield. Whenever, they try to hit the probe, it turns its body so that Mercy will be hit. Batman manages to get the probe off the ground and Superman deactivates the probe without hurting Mercy. Mercy informs the heroes of Joker's plans but the group is confronted by a more advanced probe. Superman tells Batman to go after Joker while he takes care of the probe. Unfortunately, this probe is equipped with Kryptonite. Joker has a spree in his flying wing destroying almost everything in Metropolis. Batman starts firing on the wing but the wing is much stronger than his plane and he's forced to eject. Still, Batman manages to get into the wing to confront the Joker. While Batman deals with the wing, Superman is pummeled by the probe until it tries to smash him with a heavy door. and Clark say their goodbyes.]] The door, which had been lined with led to block Superman's x-ray vision, protects him from the Kryptonite and he destroys the probe. With that job done, Superman heads off to help. Batman confronts the Joker leaving Harley Quinn to fly the wing but she only manages in shutting off its engines. Fortunately, Superman arrives just in time to prevent a collision. Batman and Joker fight for a bit and Batman forces Joker to drop all his marble grenades. The grenades start to explode and the heroes save Luthor and Harley Quinn. Joker, who was left behind, starts laughing as he sees his grenades rolling towards him. With the troubles over, Angela Chen reports on the incident: Joker's body was not found, Wayne terminated his deal with Luthor, Luthor is put under investigation and Harley is taken back to Arkham. Sadly for Bruce, Lois no longer has any interest in him. Bruce then leaves for Gotham leaving Metropolis and Lois in Superman's care once again. Trivia *The title is a reference to World's Finest Comics, an anthology comic which often featured the team of Superman and Batman after their first meeting in Superman #76. Prior to that, the comic had simply printed Batman and Superman in separate, unrelated stories. *Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill play their well-known roles from Batman: The Animated Series. Dana Delany, who voices Lois Lane, also previously worked with Conroy on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, though playing a different character. All three actors would continue to work together on Justice League. * The long term effects of Kryptonite radiation on humans is further explored in Justice League, episodes when Luthor is diagnosed with an incurable form of blood cancer as a result of carrying Kryptonite around with him for years. Cast Quotes Category:Crossover episodes Category:STAS episodes